Haman

[Tasting it meditatively.]

My lord,

I think it must have been the Persian Gulf.

[37]

Ahasuerus

Ha, ha, Haman, why you do not know

A wild goose from the Bird of Paradise.

This crangonoid is found nowhere except

Along the Red Sea beach not far from where

The hosts of Pharaoh were engulfed and lost.

Esther

[With suppressed emotion.]

Oh, king, your tongue is most acute. But whence,

Think you, this tinct of cinnamon that makes

The savor of the dish.

Ahasuerus

[Tasting for a long time.]

I give it up,

Unless it came from Java or Ceylon.

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